TENNIS fans who believe a neglected court may deter potential Wimbledon winners of the future from taking up the sport are calling for it to be renovated.

Residents living in Frinton have raised concerns over the condition of the seaside town’s communal tennis court, located in Bardfield Way.

The concrete site, positioned next to an outdoor National Lottery funded football and basket facility, is said to be in a state of disrepair.

The court’s main tennis net now appears tattered and the fencing around the court appears to have been ripped down leaving rusty metal poles exposed.

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Susan Webb, of Frinton, has been walking her dog in and around the park for the previous 10 years and says she has seen the court decline.

“There has been a chronic lack of maintenance of the court for at least 10 years and I have seen the gradual deterioration of the nets,” she added.

“There was a point where the netting could have been easily repaired but now it will likely need replacing.

“Many people used to regularly use the tennis court until it fell into disrepair, became unplayable and was left to go to rack and ruin.”

In addition to general wear and tear, one mum reported finding shattered glass on the court, so decided to stop her and her daughter from using it due to safety concerns.

Another resident, who regularly played tennis at the facility when she was a child with her family and friends, says it has been left to rot and is now unsafe.

Following the excitement surrounding the ongoing Wimbledon tennis tournament, Susan wants to see the authority to back Frinton’s sports stars of the future.

“Clearly this is what council thinks of Frinton’s young hopefuls,” added Susan, whose six children are “sport mad”.

“I emailed the council a year ago about the state of it but they did not have the good manners to reply, so they should be ashamed.

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“There are many people who want to play tennis in Frinton but cannot afford the fees of a club, which is where the council’s facilities should come in.

“I would love to take my grandchildren to the tennis court for a knockabout, but it seems the council want to turn the park into a zero maintenance area to save money.”

Michael Talbot, Tendring Councillor responsible for environment, said work has been scheduled to refurbish the tennis courts.

“As soon as we were made aware of the disrepair to the facility we set about planning the refurbishment,” he said.

“Funding has been secured from section 106 contributions – money paid by developers towards local amenities when they are granted planning permission – and tenders sought for the work.

“Once these have been returned and assessed, work will begin soon afterwards to fully refurbish the courts – and hopefully be used by the next Andy Murray or Emma Raducanu.”